The Sucker Punch Job
by Kater85
Summary: The team encounters a car thief and get more than they expected. Rated M for descriptions of abuse and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Leverage characters, I just love taking them out for a spin occasionally. I'm not a car thief, so the details are likely wrong, but I did my best to make it somewhat believable.

Pretty please review, just so I know if I should continue this series with Mack :) Enjoy!

* * *

Mack casually walked into the underground garage that held her quarry. She pulled her hat down and her hood up, obscuring her face from the cameras she'd noticed when she'd cased it out yesterday. She'd been eyeing the red Tesla roadster for a while now, but only now had done enough recon to go in for the steal. She reached into the convertible and deftly disabled the alarm, not a difficult task since she knew exactly which spark plug to pull out. She heard the scuff of a shoe behind her and spun, quickly pulling her stun gun from her messenger bag and thumbing it on.

Eliot snuck up behind the hooded figure who was messing with Nate's car. He'd gotten to the apartment a little early today, and noticed the person moving over to the Tesla. They apparently heard him and turned. Eliot saw the blue arc of a stun gun and reacted on instinct, knocking the weapon away and landing a blow to the jaw. The figure slumped against the car then fell all the way to the ground. Eliot's eyes widened as Mack's hat fell off, revealing short hair that was black on top but bright pink underneath, but more importantly, her clearly feminine and pierced features. "Oh shit." Eliot swore under his breath. He picked her up, throwing her slight form over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and then picked up the stun gun and messenger bag, then headed up to Nate's apartment.

"You know, this is my apartment, my home. It wouldn't kill you to knock." Nate groused as he came down the stairs. He stopped when he saw Eliot. "Who's that?" Nate asked, cocking his head to the side.

"She was trying to steal your car." Eliot explained, laying her on the couch.

"So you knocked her out?" Nate asked, confused.

"She came at me with a stun gun." Eliot said, holding up the item in question.

"So you knocked her out?" Nate repeated.

"I reacted on instinct. I didn't see that she was a girl until after she was down." Eliot tried to explain.

"Until after you _knocked her out_?" Nate said with a smirk as he headed into the kitchen to get some coffee.

"Lay off man." Eliot flopped into one of the chairs, glaring at the blank video screens. The door opened and Sophie and Parker walked in, clearly in the middle of an argument.

"I already told you, I don't mind giving you a ride Parker. I mind you popping into my flat while I'm in the shower." Sophie sounded exasperated but even the mental image of Parker startling the Grifter in the shower couldn't improve the Hitter's mood.

"I said I was sorry." Parker said, stopping as she spotted the sprawled form on the couch. "Who's that?" Parker asked, moving over to poke at the unconscious girl.

"Nate?" Sophie asked, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the girl.

"Ask Eliot, he's the one that knocked her out." Nate said with no small amount of amusement in his voice.

"Knocked her out?" Sophie looked to the Hitter for explanation.

"Knocked who out?" Hardison asked, walking into the apartment and stopping as she saw the girl on the couch. "Who's that?"

"The girl that Eliot knocked out." Parker said from where she was staring at the girl.

"Wait, the _girl_ that Eliot _knocked out_?" Hardison asked, an incredulous smile spreading across his face. "Seriously?"

"I didn't see her face!" Eliot hollered, tired of them making such a big deal out of it. It was a simple mistake, nothing more.

Mack began to stir, moaning slightly as she opened her eyes. She sat up quickly as she saw Parker looming over her. "Who are you?" Mack asked, drawing her knees to her chest. "Where am I?" Mack looked around the apartment, her eyes widening when she saw Eliot.

"My name is Nathan Ford; you tried to steal my car." Nate said from the kitchen, coming in to stand with the rest of the group.

"Oh." Mack suddenly looked even more nervous than before. "Look man, I didn't hurt anything, just let me go."

"We're not going to hurt you." Hardison said, "Well anymore than Eliot already has." He grinned at the Hitter who just growled.

"So I'm going to go then." Mack said, rising slowly and grabbing her bag off the table, preparing to flee if things got weird.

"Not quite yet." Nate said and Mack froze.

"Are the police on the way?" Mack asked, biting her lip nervously. She hadn't been caught yet, and having to sit here surrounded was bad enough, but she really didn't want to go to jail.

"No, of course not." Nate said as though the mere thought of calling the police was absurd.

"What's your game?" Mack asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I just have one question. How did you disable the Tesla's alarm?" Nate asked. Mack watched as the team went about their business, though noticed that everyone kept an eye on her. Hardison was sitting on the floor, doing something on his laptop. Eliot stayed in his seat, looking angry. Sophie was in the kitchen making some tea while Parker was pouring herself a bowl of cereal.

"Pulled a spark plug." Mack said with honesty brought on by simple surprise.

"That's all it took to disable the alarm system I paid extra for?" Nate asked, raising an eyebrow. "How did you know that? Teslas aren't exactly a dime a dozen."

"Research." Mack said simply. "I found out what kind of alarm system Tesla uses, and then looked into the brand to see what its weakness is. And I found it and decided to use it. And no, Teslas aren't a dime a dozen, in fact, yours is the only one on the Eastern Seaboard." Mack said, gaining some satisfaction from the look of surprise on Nate's face.

"You're quite good, clearly." Nate said.

"Not good enough, clearly." Mack said wryly. She didn't get any sense of danger from the group, but still stayed alert.

"Oh, you couldn't have expected Eliot to get the drop on you. So you're a car thief. What's your name?" Nate asked.

"Mack." Mack said simply, she didn't reveal anymore than that to anyone.

"You may want to be more careful next time Mack." Nate said and nodded toward the door, indicating that she was free to go. Mack nodded at him in thanks then turned, heading out the door. Just as she got to the threshold she saw that there was a map with a clearly marked route on it up on the six plasmas that graced the wall.

"What's that?" Mack asked, stopping and looking at the screens.

"Don't worry about that." Nate said and Mack smirked.

"Look, dude, I don't care what it is, I don't care what you're up to, but if that's an escape route, it's not going to work." Mack said and walked through the door, happy to be out of the weird apartment and away from there.

"What do you mean it's not going to work?" Mack heard his voice behind her and turned around, seeing that the older man had followed her out.

"'Not going to work' as in 'you're going to get caught'." Mack said, the confidence in her statement made Nate pause.

"Why do you say that?" Nate asked, this young woman fascinated him. He'd never really chased car thieves but if what he'd seen so far was any indication, she was good at what she did.

"Look, I'm just saying it's a crappy route to take if you want to get away clean. Do what you want, who am I to argue with you?" Mack said, itching to get out of there.

"Thanks for the advice. Oh, and Mack?" Nate waited for her to turn around and look at him. "Stay away from my car." He smiled but Mack could tell that he was serious.

"Will do." Mack threw him a mock salute then headed off, anxious to be out of there.

Nate smiled to himself and headed back into the apartment. "Was she right Hardison?" Nate asked.

"I don't know what she was talking about man, there's nothing wrong with this route. There's no road construction, no foreseeable delays, nothing." Hardison said.

"Parker, did you lift the number off her phone?" Nate asked, looking over at the Thief who smiled sheepishly and nodded. "Good. Hardison, I want to know who she is." Nate said, settling on the couch. He looked over to see Sophie looking at him strangely. "What?"

"Why do you want to know more about her Nate?" Sophie asked, studying him.

"Curiosity's sake. She disabled the alarm in my Tesla in less than a minute, the dealer said it was almost impossible to disable. She's good at what she does and yet I've never heard of her. Seems a bit odd don't you think?" Nate said with a slight shrug.

"You sure that's all?" Sophie asked quietly.

"What are you implying?" Nate sounded insulted.

"That you like to rescue people." Parker piped up from the kitchen table where she was happily eating her bowl of cereal.

"I do not…rescue people? When have I ever?" Nate stammered, flustered by how close to the truth they were.

"Uh, have you looked around Nate?" Hardison said, "You brought us together."

"I do not want to 'rescue' her, just know more about the girl that tried to steal my car." Nate insisted, pretending not to notice the knowing look that Sophie gave Hardison.

"According to this, Mack has been stealing cars since the early 80s, so I'm guessing she appropriated the name." Hardison said. "Or it was her father's." Nate pointed to a photo of the original Mack, who was standing with a little girl whose face had been blurred.

"Makes sense." Sophie said with a nod. "She took over the family business along with the name. Gives her instant credibility with the fences." The tone of her voice implied that Sophie approved of the technique.

Nate seemed deep in thought and the team shared knowing looks, they all knew that they'd be seeing the girl again soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Leverage characters, I just love taking them out for a spin occasionally. I'm not a car thief, so the details are likely wrong, but I did my best to make it somewhat believable.

* * *

Mack sat on a bus stop bench, keeping an eye on the Mercedes dealership across the street. To any bystanders she would appear to be playing her Nintendo DS, but her attention was on the activities across the street.

"Casing an entire dealership?" Nate asked, taking a seat beside her. "I like the wig by the way, you look nice as a redhead."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Mack hissed, not wanting him to break her cover.

"Waiting for a bus it seems." Nate smiled slightly.

"And stalking me apparently." Mack said with a slight frown.

"I like that you took your jewelry off, makes you less noticeable." Nate said.

"Glad you approve, now leave me alone." Mack didn't know why he had followed her, but she wanted him gone.

"I have a job offer for you. Help us with this job, you'll get paid and we could use your help." Nate said, and Mack looked at him incredulously.

"Dude, I don't even know you. And what kind of job are we talking?" Mack asked, curiosity getting to her.

"One that requires your specialty. You're one of the best car thieves around." Nate explained.

"Yeah, I am." Mack said with a shrug. "If I come and listen to what you have planned will you leave me alone?" Mack asked.

"Sure." Nate said with a chuckle. "Come with me."

"You realize I have a stun gun and know how to use it right?" Mack warned, unsure of what his intentions were.

"Why don't you hop on your bike and follow my car. I trust you can keep up with the Tesla." Nate said and Mack narrowed her eyes, wondering how he knew about her motorcycle.

"So what precisely do you do?" Mack asked, following Nate into the apartment, hand in her bag, grasping her stun gun.

"We help people who have no other options. We provide extra legal help." Nate explained.

"So you're the modern version of Robin Hood? Seriously?" Mack asked with a snicker.

"We help people." Parker piped up.

"And you make money at this?" Mack asked, surprised.

"Yeah." Hardison nodded, patting the couch next to him. "Take a seat, we'll show you what we do."

"Why do I feel like I'm being inducted into the criminal hall of fame?" Mack joked.

"Because you are." Sophie said, and Mack shot her a look. "Do you know who we are?"

"Let's see, Alec Hardison, world's best hacker. Eliot Spencer, world's best retrieval specialist. Parker, world's best thief, specializing in diamonds I believe. And Sophie Deveraux, who has more aliases than I could count and who is considered to be the world's best grifter. You," Mack pointed at Nate. "Used to work for IYS insurance, and chased them around the world. So now, for no apparent reason, the best thieves work for the best thief catcher. You people are weird." Mack said.

"You did your research." Nate said with a smirk.

"Um, I was here, you all saw me so I figured turnabout was fair play." Mack said. "And don't tell me you didn't research me, 'cause you're not stupid."

"No, no we're not." Nate agreed. "So do you want to work with us?"

"Depends on the job, I'm not entirely sure why you need me." Mack said.

"Because of what you said yesterday, why is this route dangerous?" Nate asked, pointing at the map up on the screen.

"That's why I'm here?" Mack asked incredulously. "Because of what I said about your map?" Mack chuckled.

"Answer the question." Nate said and Mack sighed.

"Couldn't figure it out on your own?" Mack asked with a smirk.

"I cross checked with every database I could think of. There's no road work, no delays. No reason for it not to be a perfectly good escape route." Hardison explained.

"The reason it's not good wouldn't be on any kind of database." Mack grabbed the keyboard from Hardison and plugged a flash drive into the port. Suddenly another map popped up with points of interest marked on it. "Those are all the places that local cops like to hang out. All the spots they park to chat. Now, assuming your place has any kind of security, they'll likely have a silent alarm, which means cops will be on alert within about five minutes. Can you overlay the two maps?" Mack asked and Hardison took his keyboard back and overlaid the two maps. "See those two spots?" Mack pointed and waited for them all to nod. "Those are the two spots you have the potential to be caught. Now if it were me, I'd go here." Mack stood and pointed out an alternate route on the map. "There's much less likelihood that you'll be snagged. A completely cop free route." Mack said with a grin.

"How do you know all these places?" Hardison asked, impressed with her knowledge.

"Research." Mack said simply. "I do recon on every job I ever do. Which is why, until yesterday, I never got caught." Mack explained.

"I'm impressed." Nate said. "So you're an escape specialist."

"Why do you need to label everyone?" Mack asked. "I'm a car thief. Nothing fancy about it."

"We don't just need you for the map, we need you to get into our mark's car and you seem to be the best candidate for the job." Nate said.

"And my cut is what?" Mack asked. "I'm not working for free."

"Don't worry about the money, I guarantee that you will make more on this job than you do on two normal hauls." Nate said and Mack smiled slightly.

"Well, if nothing else I can always fence your Tesla." Mack teased, stifling a giggle at the frown that crossed Nate's face. "So who are we helping? What's the big save this week?"

"Hardison." Nate said, and the Hacker launched into a briefing.

"So he screwed some people out of their savings? And now you're shutting down his entire bank?" Mack asked. "Won't that just screw others out of their jobs, and their savings?"

"No, we're just going to get him fired. We prove that he's a fraud, the government still insures the bank and they'll just get a new bank president." Nate explained.

"And we get paid how?" Mack asked. "I mean, it's all good that you're trying to help them, but if you're planning on getting paid, how is that going to work?"

"Johnson has money squirreled away all over the place. Hardison has hacked his accounts and just before the end of the con, the money will mysteriously disappear." Nate explained.

"Alright, so I'm in charge of getting into his car? That's it?" Mack asked. She kind of liked the idea of taking down a bad guy, even if she'd never ever admit it.

"Getting into his car and making sure we get out safely." Nate said and Mack nodded.

"Fine, one job. I help on this one and then you leave me the hell alone." Mack agreed.

"Deal." Nate said and the rest of the day was spent planning the heist.

"You can stay here, it's going to be an early morning tomorrow." Nate offered.

"Oh, you'll let me stay in your home tonight?" Mack asked skeptically. "Let me guess, you'll even let me share the bed."

"What? Absolutely not. You'll be on the couch." Nate looked appalled by the insinuation.

Mack looked at him strangely, then nodded. "Alright, I'll sleep on the couch." This man wasn't what she expected, far less creepy than she'd originally thought. "Can I use your bathroom?" Mack asked, grabbing a tee shirt and a pair of leggings from her bag.

"What all do you have in there?" Hardison asked, munching on a piece of pizza. So far throughout the day he'd seen her shuffle a wig around, pull out a bottle of PowerAde, a spare pair of shoes and now clean clothes.

"Everything I need to survive an all day recon mission and not go absolutely nuts." Mack pulled out her DS and laid it on the table. I can go from one look to a completely different one at any time. All my clothes are reversible. I can do tats," Mack pulled out some pens, "Or cover my tats up." She showed him some makeup and a large chunky watch that covered the tattoo of keys on her wrist.

"Impressive." Sophie said, ever the grifter. She could appreciate the girl's preparedness.

"Not really. I don't have my tools or anything." Mack shrugged. "Bathroom?"

"Upstairs." Nate said and Mack nodded, heading for the stairs, bundle of clothes in hand. She found the bathroom and changed, pulling on her leggings first. The door opened and Mack spun, arms coming up to cover herself.

"What the hell?" Mack asked, equal parts embarrassed and annoyed.

"Sorry." Parker said, but didn't move. A slight smile on her features, almost as though she were pleased at having startled the younger woman.

"I'm changing, go away!" Mack felt panic rising within her and it took all her effort to squelch it.

"You've got polka dots, little white polka dots." Parker said, reaching out a finger to poke at the little round white scars on Mack's belly.

"Get out!" Mack yelled and finally Parker turned to leave. Mack quickly pulled on her shirt then looked at her reflection in the mirror, then splashed some water on her face, trying to get her blush to go away. Once her cheeks had returned to their normal color she folded her clothes and headed back downstairs to find Nate chewing Parker out for barging in on her. "Its fine, whatever." Mack sat down on the couch and looked over to see Hardison playing her DS. "What is it with you people?" Mack asked, snatching her game back from him. "Have you guys even heard of personal property?"

"We're thieves." Hardison said, as though it should be obvious.

"Perfect." Mack said, curling up in the corner of the couch and closing her eyes, dropping off to sleep quickly. The group dissipated, everyone going back to their own homes except for Sophie who stayed to help Nate plan the con.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Leverage characters, I just love taking them out for a spin occasionally. I'm not a car thief, so the details are likely wrong, but I did my best to make it somewhat believable.

* * *

When Mack woke up the next morning it was to Parker standing over her with a bowl of cereal, munching away happily. "What is your issue?" Mack asked, sitting up having clearly been startled.

Parker walked away without having said anything, leaving Mack somewhat disgruntled. "Don't worry about her, she does that a lot." Hardison said, he was sitting in one of the arm chairs and toying with his laptop.

"Awesome." Mack said then grabbed some clothes and headed up to the bathroom, noticing that everyone save the Hitter was in the apartment, Sophie and Nate were in the kitchen, whipping up some breakfast and Parker had moved to the table to finish her cereal. Mack changed into the jeans and a long sleeved tee that she'd been wearing the day before and slipped on her grey converse. She skipped the wig today and put in her facial jewelry, her spider-bite lip rings and nose ring, feeling slightly more normal with them in. Mack ran her fingers through her hair, happy that the straightening had seemed to stick from the day before. When she came back downstairs Nate handed her a plate with eggs, bacon and toast on it then motioned for her to sit at the table. Mack awkwardly took the plate and sat on one of the chairs, obviously not familiar with this kind of family atmosphere. "Uh, thanks."

"You're welcome. How'd you sleep last night?" Nate asked, taking his own spot at the table, nodding toward Eliot who'd just come in through the front door.

"Fine. What are we doing today?" Mack asked, digging into her eggs with abandon. She didn't often get home cooked meals, and planned to enjoy this one.

"You're going to steal a car for us." Nate said and they all moved into the living room so that they could go over their assignments for the day. "Alright, Sophie, you'll be making contact with the target, keep him inside until Mack escapes with the car. Hardison, you'll be tech support, Parker, you and Eliot will be going to his office and placing surveillance equipment. I'll be covering Sophie at the hotel, any questions?"

"You going to tell me what kind of car or am I supposed to guess?" Mack asked.

"All we know is his parking space number at the hotel, but we haven't been able to find out what kind of car it is." Hardison explained.

"I need to see everything you have on this hotel." Mack said, already sitting forward eagerly, ready to do her part. Mack spent the next couple hours looking at surveillance tapes and noting movements around the area. "I think I'm good. Looks like a simple in and out run. Where am I dropping the car?" Mack asked, her fingers practically itching to get this show on the road.

"Here." Nate pointed to an abandoned lot on the map. "We'll meet up there."

"Got it. When can we go?" Mack felt the familiar anticipation rise within her and grinned, she wanted to get this car.

"Here's your ear bud, it can pick up even the lowest sounds so you don't have to speak loudly to have us hear you. It's also equipped with a GPS tracker so if you get in trouble we'll be able to find you." Hardison explained as Mack slipped it into her ear.

"Now can we go?" Mack asked, drawing indulgent smiles from Sophie and Nate and smirks from the rest of the team.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Leverage characters, I just love taking them out for a spin occasionally. I'm not a car thief, so the details are likely wrong, but I did my best to make it somewhat believable.

* * *

Mack walked into the parking garage and glanced at the numbers on the wall, gauging how long it would take her to reach the car. She made sure to keep her body language casual as she strolled down the aisle, looking around for the right number. She found space 431 after a couple minutes and felt her heart sink as she saw the type of car. "Uh, guys, we've got a problem." Mack whispered, hoping that the ear bud worked as well as Hardison had claimed.

"What is it?" Nate asked from his position at the bar. He glanced over at Sophie who was flirting with their mark and she caught his eye, letting him know that she'd heard the car thief as well.

"I can't steal this car." Mack whispered, continuing to walk as though still looking for her vehicle.

"Why not?" Hardison asked from where he was sitting at Nate's apartment.

"Because it's a Volkswagen, I can't do it." Mack insisted and Nate remained quiet for a minute while he worked out a new plan.

"Mack, Sophie and I are coming down to meet you. Eliot, Parker, get out of there as fast as you can." Nate got up and walked out of the bar, heading to the elevator and waiting as Sophie disengaged herself from the mark and met him at the elevator. When they found the car thief in the garage she looked positively angry. She was pacing back and forth, clearly upset. She turned when she heard them approach and waited for them to reach her. "Why can't you steal it?" Nate asked quietly.

"The ignition has a very specific ignition setup, security on these things is amazing. I can't hotwire it, it's the Kobayashi Maru of the car world. As good as I am, even I can't do this." Mack said, her failure clearly bothering her.

"Alright, everyone meet back at headquarters, we'll figure this out." Nate turned and almost ran into a tall, thin man dressed in a cheap dark suit who was looking at Mack in a way that made Nate's skin crawl.

"Well if it isn't my darling step-daughter." He said, his voice sickeningly sweet and Mack spun, a look of horror on her face. "You know, your mother has been worried sick." Sophie noticed how Mack immediately entered a defensive position and how her eyes went cold. He casually lit a cigarette and Mack paled, swallowing hard, eyes not leaving the small cylinder in his hand.

"Like you ever gave a damn about her. What do you want Ed?" Mack asked through gritted teeth.

"I was just wondering how much your pimp here charged for an hour with you. Does he know that you're defective? Or do you just attract a special clientele?" He asked and Mack felt bile rise in the back of her throat.

"I'm not a whore Ed, and he's not my pimp." Mack's voice was hard, and she'd beat Nate's angry retort.

"I'd suggest you move along." Nate said, anger clear in his voice.

"If you're not her pimp you don't really have any say over what she does." Ed said simply, looking over at Sophie. "You're sure you're not a pimp because I'd like to spend some quality time with this pretty lady here." He said with a grin. Sophie hauled back and slapped him, slightly surprised when he just laughed.

The trio walked past him, anger clear in their body language as they walked away. Nate and Sophie were both furious, and Mack was fighting back tears. "You know, your mom is back on the crack, you should come see her sometime, she might even know you." Ed called after them and Mack turned, drawing a knife from her bag. Nate grabbed her arm and shook his head, tugging at her to come with him, he wasn't sure what this new development meant, but he sure intended to find out.

Mack was unusually quiet on the way back to the apartment and when Sophie looked in the mirror under the guise of checking her makeup she saw that the young woman was crying silently as she stared out the window. She remained silent as they headed up to the apartment and didn't speak as Nate talked to Parker and Eliot about how it went at the mark's office. Sophie sat down on the couch next to Mack but said nothing, trying not to let her curiosity get the best of her. "I'm fine." Mack said quietly, almost too quietly to be heard.

"What happened in there?" Nate asked gently. "Who was that guy?"

"My step-father. He won't be a problem, I promise." Mack said, her voice devoid of emotion.

"Alright, how are we going to get his car?" Nate asked, willing to let the subject go. Though he knew she was hurting, he wasn't exactly in a position to be demanding answers. He'd let her deal with it on her own until he thought she couldn't and then he'd step in.

"I noticed a valet parking stand, isn't that how Hardison knew the space number?" Mack asked and Hardison nodded. "Okay, so I pose as a valet, steal the key and take the car. Easy peasy, now, can we go?" Mack asked, tired of the team staring at her. She knew they were trying not to, and she didn't even blame them, but their looks still unnerved her.

"We'll take it in the morning. Sophie told him that she was staying in the hotel, so it wouldn't be out of the question to see him two days in a row. Now that we have surveillance in his office we should be good to go." Nate said and Mack smiled and nodded, though the smile never reached her eyes. She stood and grabbed her bag, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Nate asked, following her to the door.

"I'm going home. I'll be here bright and early, don't you worry." Mack said, her voice devoid of emotion and it didn't take someone as skilled at reading people as Nate was to see that she was hurting. Nate watched her go, concerned about the newest, albeit temporary, member of the team.

When Mack returned to Nate's apartment the next morning there were dark circles under her eyes and everyone could tell she hadn't slept much. She was somehow wearing a tee with the hotel's logo and Valet printed on the back. The dark green contrasted with her red wig and her jewelry was missing, her makeup concealing where they had been. The briefing was pretty quick and soon Mack found herself back in the parking garage only this time standing behind the Valet podium. She responded to customers with enthusiasm that would be typical of a valet, she rolled her eyes as keys were handed to her and ran until she was just out of eyeshot before slowing to a shuffle. She continued all day until she was given the Volkswagen's key, she did the same thing, rolled her eyes, snapped her gum and half heartedly walked off to get the car. She'd already noticed a back way out of the garage and drove out the back, taking turns slowly and making sure she attracted no undue attention. "I'm out guys." Mack murmured into the com.

"Meet us at the parking lot." Nate's voice sounded in her ear and Mack drove to the lot, parking and getting out, leaning against the car with crossed arms and waited for the rest of the group to arrive. They arrived together in Nate's car and all piled out. Mack tossed the keys to Nate, smiling slightly.

"Where's my cut?" Mack asked. She had plans for this afternoon, and wanted to get on the road.

"Here you go." Nate tossed her a backpack and Mack could tell from the weight that the money was there.

"Thanks a ton. Remember, avoid those roads." Mack said, walking over to her motorcycle and pulling her helmet on before pulling on her leather jacket and putting the backpack on. She roared off, leaving the five members of the Leverage team standing there.

"Think she'll be alright?" Hardison asked, concerned. He'd seen how shaken she looked yesterday, and she was so very young, at least compared with the rest of the group.

"After this job we'll check in on her, but for right now I want to get this job finished up." Nate said and they all piled back into the car and headed back to the hotel.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Leverage characters, I just love taking them out for a spin occasionally. I'm not a car thief, so the details are likely wrong, but I did my best to make it somewhat believable.

* * *

Mack leaned up against the bright red convertible and waited, she had nothing but time and endless amounts of patience. She smelled his cheap cologne before she saw him but maintained her relaxed stance. "I knew you'd be back, you never could get enough of me." Ed stood in front of her, leaning close enough that she could smell the liquor on his breath. She smiled and pressed the stun gun to his chest, giving him a good jolt that knocked him out then dumped him in his car. She quickly moved into the driver's seat and pulled the car out of the garage, discarding her wig as soon as she was away from the cameras she knew were in the garage. She drove him through town to an abandoned warehouse on the docks, far past where the fishing fleet operated, out here they wouldn't be interrupted.

Mack drove the car into the warehouse, pulling it over to a pulley system set up hanging from a beam. There was a table with a knife laying on it along with some chains and a padlock. Mack wound the chain around the limp man's wrists, making sure they were tight enough that he wouldn't be able to wriggle out of them. She padlocked the chain in place and jumped up and grabbed the hook, pulling it down and hooking it to the chain before levering him up so that he was hanging by his wrists with his toes barely brushing the floor. Mack smiled a sadistic little smile and took off her tee shirt, leaving her in a white tank. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and sat on the table waiting for him to wake up.

He woke with a start and Mack smiled, no mirth in the movement but rather a coldness that made him realize he was in trouble. "Let me down." He said sternly, hoping she would somehow do as she was asked.

"That's not going to happen, Ed." Mack said with a smile. Across town Hardison perked up, hearing the car thief's voice over the com.

"Uh, Nate, I think Mack might be in trouble." Hardison said and Nate sighed.

"Sophie, where are we at?" Nate asked over the com and he heard the Grifter's sigh.

"I'm almost done with the blow off." Sophie's voice was quiet and Nate nodded.

"Well, let's hurry. Parker, Eliot, meet us back at the car. Hardison, I want you to keep an ear on Mack, I want you to find her." Nate said, shaking his head. He should have known she wasn't going to be okay.

Back at the warehouse Ed was realizing just how much trouble he was in. Mack cut his shirt open, revealing his bare chest Mack lit a cigarette and took a long drag and blew the smoke in his face. "We're going to play a game." Mack's voice had a cold, dead quality about it and his eyes widened as he recognized the words he'd uttered countless times before. "You're going to stay quiet for as long as you can, if you make a sound it will just be worse." Mack pressed the cigarette to the skin just next to his right nipple, pressing it firmly against his flesh. "That's so that you always remember that you're mine. Nobody is ever going to want you after this, you're marked, dirty." Mack's voice was hard and he groaned at the burning. She pulled away the cigarette and walked around him, continuing to talk.

"You're worthless, living under my roof, eating my food. It's about time you started earning your keep." Mack pressed the cigarette to his belly, smiling as he tried to twist away from the hot pain. "She doesn't know, doesn't care about you. If you tell her I'll ship you away, send you somewhere where someone will treat you worse than I will." Mack continued placing small circular burns on his body, placing them very specifically though the pattern was random.

"Hardison, where is she?" Nate asked from behind the wheel of the van, leaning forward as though it would make the hacker find her more quickly. They could hear every word Mack said, hear the grunts of pain from Ed and Nate new that they needed to get there soon.

"Warehouse by the docks." Hardison said, and Nate took a sharp right, flooring it as they listened to Mack continue.

"Please stop." Ed begged, he' d had enough. Tears were streaming down his face as Mack continued her work, continuing throwing his words back at him as she meticulously placed small circular burns on his torso and back.

"I can't do that. I have over a hundred, you're only up to twenty." Mack said, almost as though confused by his words. "You have to get as many as me." She said and looked up at him. "Stop crying, the tears don't help. Nothing helps." Mack said, her voice almost sad now. She lifted her tank top up and looked at her own belly which was polka dotted with small white scars. She smiled sadly then went back to her work. "You can try to be good, but you still get hurt. You try to help your mom and you still get hurt. Why?" Mack asked, cocking her head to the side as she faced Ed, looking up at him in askance.

"I don't know." He gasped, it was hard to breathe through the pain and with his arms held like this.

"Not good enough. You did this for years! You kept me in that dark basement and tortured me for hours. Why?" Mack asked again, pressing the cigarette to his chest and listening with a satisfied smile as he finally screamed. "Nuh-uh, you have to be quiet."

"You crazy bitch, wait until I get out of these chains, I'm going to kill you." Ed said, anger making him pant.

"You're not going to do anything to me ever again." Mack said with conviction in her voice. She pressed another cigarette to his torso, leaving it for longer this time, smiling mirthlessly as he screamed again. She heard a car pull into the warehouse and didn't care who it was. All that mattered was that he hurt as much as she had.

Eliot reached the young woman first and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her away from the man hanging from the ceiling. Mack struggled against the strong arms around her, cursing and thrashing around, trying to escape. "Calm down darlin'." Eliot murmured in her ear, as though trying to calm an animal. Sophie gasped at the blood dripping down Ed's form and Nate moved over to lower him to the ground. Hardison hung back, unable to reconcile the woman screaming in Eliot's arms with the girl they'd been working with.

"Let go of me!" Mack cried as she struggled. In the struggle her shirt rode up and Parker noticed the scars again, but for the first time realized what they were.

"Look." Parker said to Sophie, pointing at the scars. Sophie gasped and walked over to Mack and the young woman calmed somewhat when she saw the Grifter.

"Let me go." Mack begged, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't let that crazy bitch go! She'll kill me." Ed called from the floor, obviously terrified of his step-daughter.

"How did you get these scars?" Sophie asked, her voice gentle.

"He used to burn me." Mack said quietly, slumping in Eliot's arms as the adrenaline waned.

"That's a lie." Ed protested feebly from the floor, and it took no people reading skills what so ever to be able to tell that he was lying. Parker looked at him with cold eyes.

"Let her go Eliot, he likes this game." Parker's voice held a tinge of pain that alluded to similar situations in her past. "You should let her play."

"No Parker, she can't do this." Sophie said but noticed that Eliot seemed to be considering it. "Eliot, take her to the car." Sophie commanded and felt annoyance rise when he checked for Nate's nod before he did as he was asked.

"Why not?" Parker asked, watching the Hitter walk the girl to Nate's car.

'"Because it will end up hurting her more than him." Sophie walked over to where Nate was unchaining Ed's hands.

"You're going to get out of town, stay away from her mother and forget this ever happened. If you come near her again I won't stop her. Understand?" Nate asked, his voice cold. He had never been able to understand how people could hurt their children, he'd give everything he had to have just five minutes with Sam, he couldn't imagine ever hurting him.

'"I'm going to the police. That crazy bitch tried to kill me!" Ed insisted and suddenly Eliot was pulling him up by the remnants of his shirt.

"You're going to forget all about this. You've never met her, you hurt yourself on accident and will suck it up. If you come near her again, or if I ever see you again I'll kill you myself." Eliot's voice was low and dangerous. Thankfully Ed seemed to believe him and stayed quiet except for a grunt of pain as Eliot tossed him to the floor. "You're lucky we're leaving you alive, you sorry sack of shit."

Hardison and Parker quickly destroyed all evidence that Mack had been in the warehouse and then they all piled into the car where Mack sat staring blankly at the back of the driver's seat headrest. Though they were rather scrunched in the back seat she said nothing, made eye contact with no one as Nate drove them back to his apartment. Sophie kept checking in the mirror and even Parker looked concerned. When they got to the apartment Hardison led her up the stairs, growing ever more concerned as she still said nothing, simply let herself be led. They hadn't known her for long, but it seemed uncharacteristic of the previously friendly girl.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Leverage characters, I just love taking them out for a spin occasionally. I'm not a car thief, so the details are likely wrong, but I did my best to make it somewhat believable.

* * *

"What happened?" Nate asked, sitting on the coffee table across from Mack who was curled into a ball on the couch. She looked up at him with tear filled eyes and it took her a moment before she was able to speak. When she finally did, her voice was so soft they had to strain to hear her.

"I saw him the other day at the garage, he had a cigarette and, I don't know, something inside me broke." Mack shrugged slightly. "I saw him there, talking about my mom and calling me a whore and it all came rushing back. I worked so hard to forget." Mack buried her face in her hands and wept as all the hurt she'd shoved deep down inside came rushing back to the surface.

"Take your time sweetie." Sophie said, sitting next to her on the couch, holding a box of tissues and reaching out to rub her back before thinking twice and letting her hand drop back to her lap.

"He married my mom when I was ten. The 'games' didn't start until I was twelve." Mack shuddered at the memory and stared past Nate as she spoke. "The first time he called me down to the basement I thought he wanted me to help him clean stuff up. He locked the door and lit a cigarette and said we were going to play a game, that the rules were easy. I had to stay quiet or it would get worse. The first night he burned me twice, and I passed out from the pain. He burnt me here first." Mack pulled the neck of the tank top down to show them a burn on her right breast. "Said it was so that I never forgot that I was his, he told me that nobody would want me now because I was defective." Mack sniffled slightly and pulled the neckline back up. "I told my mom, but she said I was lying because I wanted to spend time with my dad. He'd always wait for the burns to heal before adding more, I'd get in trouble if I passed out and he'd wake me up with cold water. It went on until I was sixteen, when I finally ran away." Mack said trying in vain to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"Your father?" Nate asked.

"He talked to Ed, I think they got physical because that night it was worse and he was all bruised up. Kept calling me a little liar." Mack sniffled slightly and shivered. "Daddy got caught when I was fourteen, sent to prison and I didn't have any escape anymore. At least I had been getting away sometimes, getting to stay with my dad, but then I was stuck with Ed. I put up with it as long as I could before I ran away. Daddy had taught me the basics of his business and I worked the rest out on my own." Mack nodded gratefully to Hardison who put a soft green blanket around her shoulders and she clutched it around her.

"How often?" Eliot asked and Mack looked over at him, surprised to hear his voice. She stood, dropping the blanket and pulling up the hem of her tank top so that they could see the dozens of little white scars on her torso. Everyone looked taken aback by the multitude of scars. To everyone's surprise Parker stood and pulled Mack into a brief but fierce hug before releasing her and retreating to her seat on the floor in front of Eliot.

"Often enough." Mack said simply before fixing her shirt and wrapping herself back in the blanket and sitting back down. "I'm sorry you had to get involved. I'll bring the money back and we'll consider it all done." Mack said quietly, standing and walking over to retrieve the jacket that she'd left here earlier.

"The money is yours." Nate said, walking over to her. "We understand, but I would suggest staying away from Ed." Nate's voice was gentle.

"I don't want to be anymore like him than I already am." Mack assured the older man.

"If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to call." Nate said and Mack looked up, surprise on her face at the sincerity she found in his eyes.

"Same goes for you." Mack said then disappeared out the door, not bothering to look back. This was just like any other job; she had to leave it behind when she was done.


End file.
